The opening hymn was prompted by today’s Gospel acclamation, and by the Gospel reading itself from St John. The entrance antiphon text

O sing a new song to the Lord,
for he has worked wonders;
in the sight of the nations
he has shown his deliverance, alleluia. (Ps 97(98))

found an echo in our postcommunion motet, setting similar words from Ps 95(96). With I am the vine during the Communion procession, and Martin Hall’s responsorial psalm setting, we had (as Eric Morecambe might have put it) all the proper texts, but not necessarily in the proper order.

We had the usual array of shepherd-themed music for today’s celebration of Good Shepherd Sunday. In year C the second reading, from the book of the Apocalypse adds the image of the Lamb, and indeed shows the Lamb and the Shepherd to be one and the same:

The Lamb who is at the thronewill be their shepherd

Our closing hymn also sang of the slain Lamb:

Paschal Lamb, thine offering, finished
once for all when thou was slain,
in its fullness undiminished
shall for evermore remain.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Cleansing souls from every stain.

I reckon Anthony must have been caught out by the clocks changing; at least, his brain was still on snooze when he gave us the start note for our postcommunion motet - top C would have been just right for Lassus the previous night, but for Jacquet we would really have preferred an A. I’m not sure which I’d rather have been equipped with: perfect pitch or a laser death ray gun. (It would have been a pain to have to recruit a new organist, to be fair, and whoever we got wouldn’t be as good as Anthony.) Still, the choir coped admirably, not least the tenors, who had to spend more time than was strictly comfortable around top A. Plainly it’s possible to make beautiful music even while singing with puzzled and/or pained expressions on our faces.

Tonight’s Offertory antiphon from the Graduale, Dextera Domini, sets the words from a verse of Ps 117, which we heard in English before the Gospel:

The Lord’s right hand has triumphed;His right hand raised me up.I shall not die, I shall liveand recount his deeds.

With Lassus’s setting, together with the Morales Vidi aquam, sundry chant items, a traditional hymn, and songs by Haas, Haugen, Inwood, Joncas and co., we had one of our trademark banquets of rich and diverse musical fare; rightly so for a celebration that more or less sums up Christian faith and liturgical life.

There was no blessing of the font this year, for the first time in many years. (The customary absence of baptismal candidates was, I think, for once judged a reason not to bless the font.) We omitted the litany of the saints, but retained Springs of water which usually serves not only as the acclamation after the blessing, but also as musical cover for the lighting of baptismal candles before the renewal of promises.

Bishop Terence sang his part in the solemn intercessions, and in the dialogue at the showing of the cross. During the adoration, we found time for thirteen verses of the Allegri, including the serene conclusion in nine parts. The quartet verses were beautifully executed by Aimée Presswood, Bekki Gocher, Karen Massey and Ian Williams.

As always on this occasion, the people’s singing was reverent and strong, not least in Jesus, remember me, sung while the choir joined the procession to venerate the cross.

It’s not a bad problem to have when the assembly run away with a song. Things came a bit unstuck in Pange Lingua: we were allowing a break in the music after the fourth verse, while the procession completed its progress to the altar of repose, so that we could begin Tantum Ergo at the appropriate time. Last year people were content to follow the choir’s lead, but this time a determined subset of the assembly sang their way through the whole of the fifth verse despite being evidently in the minority. It seemed more charitable for us to resume at verse six, rather than to sing verse five again properly, so to speak. Next time round I’ll make sure the instructions are clear in the service sheet; and I’ll make sure the organ plays something incompatible with forging ahead obliviously at that point.

Anyway, if there’s a choice between the people singing and the people not singing, I know which I prefer.

Where two or three are gathered (Liam Lawton)
Ave Verum Corpus (Colin Mawby, 1936-)

Recessional Hymn

Tell out, my soul

The usual festive mix of ancient and modern for our grand, happy gathering of the Diocese. Celebration Brass made their customary splash, and the choir shone, not least in the choral items by Dubra and Mawby.

Our communion song was a fairly recent offering from the pen of Liam Lawton. The anthem-like people’s refrain is very appealing, and the assembly picked it up quickly and sang with commitment. The verses, “emulating a chant style”, it says in the publisher’s promotional material, are to my mind very weak in comparison. It’s a great pity the composer didn’t aim for something more imaginative and well-crafted. But the uplifting refrain perhaps makes up for them.

Welcome

This is a record of musical activities at St John's Cathedral, Salford - what we've been doing and what's coming up, and some thoughts on the musical planning process. You can also find information about joining the choir, and about our choral scholarships program.